Two men were hiking along a path in the forest. They were talking about friendship. One man said to the other, “A true friend is a person you can trust to help you when you really need it.” The other man was about to agree with this, when suddenly they heard a crashing sound in the trees nearby.
“That sounds like something big!” shouted the first man, as he ran to the nearest tree and climbed it. The second man started running, too.
Then a huge bear appeared. She was up on her hind legs, and she blocked the path to the tree, where the other man sat quietly, hoping she would not see or smell him. The unlucky man on the ground was in big trouble. He did the only thing he could think of: he fell down and lay still, as if he was dead.
The bear became very curious then, and she walked over to the man on the ground. When the bear was right next to the man’s body, she started sniffing him. The poor man tried hard not to sneeze. Fortunately, he didn’t, even when the smelly bear sniffed very close to his ear and tickled him with her wet nose.
To the man in the tree, it looked like the bear was whispering something in his friend’s ear!
The bear stopped sniffing. Thinking the man was dead, she rambled away through the forest.
Both men waited until they were sure the bear was gone. Then they hurried to get as far away from the bear as possible. The man who had played dead was very quiet as they walked quickly down the path.
The man who had climbed the tree said, “It looked like the bear was whispering in your ear! Did she say anything?” The other man said, “Yes, the bear said, ‘Go find a true friend who won’t desert you when you are in danger!’”
Objectives
Cognitive: Students will understand the meaning of loyalty in friendship. Affective: Students will see how the man who climbed the tree was not a loyal friend. They will desire to be loyal and to experience loyalty in their friendships. Behavioral: Students will define loyalty as standing together, standing up for each other, and helping each other when help is needed. Students will describe examples of loyal behavior.
Class Session 1
Begin the class by reading the story to the children and showing them the illustration. Ask them if they think the bear really whispered to the man when she was sniffing him! Then mention that this story is about loyalty and friendship.
Ask them if they know what loyalty means. Affirm correct answers. Clarify that loyalty is when people stand together, no matter what. They stand up for each other, and they help each other—even in times of difficulty or danger.
Ask students what they think the man who climbed the tree could have done to help his companion. Listen to their suggestions, affirm any accurate ones, and gently explain why some ideas might not work or help. You can say that the man who climbed the tree could have tried to scare the bear or distract her by yelling or throwing something. If he had candy in his pocket, throwing that to the bear to eat might have given the two men a few minutes to run away without the bear noticing them. Point out that instead of trying to help, though, this friend only saved himself.
Ask students if they would like to have a friend like that. Ask them why or why not. Do students think the two travelers will remain friends? Why or why not? Explain that loyalty is an important part of being a friend or being in a family. There are lots of times when we can act with loyalty toward our friends and family. For example, a family member may fall and get hurt. You can stop whatever you’re doing and go over to the person to see if you can help. This is loyalty. Explain that sometimes children their age have even saved another person’s life, because they cared enough to try to help.
Ask, “Did you ever help a friend or member of your family when they were in trouble?” Add that showing loyalty may involve defending or protecting someone from teasing or bullying. Loyal persons will do something to rescue a friend from this kind of hurtful behavior. Encourage them to tell an adult if they see a friend or family member being bullied or teased. They should get a grown-up to help stop it. This is the right thing to do. Ask: “What is the loyal thing to do if someone says something bad or mean about your friend or family member?” Affirm that the loyal thing to do is to say something nice about the friend or family member and then start talking about something else. Continue on the theme of loyalty by explaining, “You are also a loyal friend when you help someone do the right thing.
If your friend wants to do something that is wrong, you can tell them not to do it. That is being a loyal friend. Did you ever experience this?” Let students recount times when they stopped a friend from doing something wrong. Assure students, “You will keep and make friends when you show you are loyal. When you ask most people what kind of a friend they want, they say they want a loyal one—someone who will stay with them no matter what!”
Class Session 2
Explain that you are going to play a game today called “Loyalty Freeze Tag.” Form two teams. You can choose the teams according to boys or girls, or children wearing dark shirts as opposed to light shirts, or colored shirts as opposed to white ones. Each team selects two people to be “taggers.” The teams face each other, standing in lines. When the teacher says, “Go!” the taggers try to tag rival team members. Team members try to avoid the taggers from the rival team. Once tagged, the student has to freeze. He or she can only be unfrozen when a member from their team comes and tags him or her. Then the student can run and play again. When the whistle blows, the team that has the least number of frozen members wins.
After playing this game, have a discussion. Begin by asking why they think this game is called “Loyalty Tag.” Then explain that players are loyal when they risk being tagged to try to unfreeze their team members. Then ask if anyone got unfrozen by a team member, or if anyone unfroze a team member. Go on to ask, “How did that feel?”
Call on several students to share their experiences of the game. Conclude by saying, “This is how loyalty feels. It feels good, doesn’t it?”
From: Discovering the Real Me, Book 2. For book orders, click here.
Resources
An animated version of the story.
Comments
Share your experiences by clicking on the "Discussion" box at the top of this page. Your comments will appear below.
Story
Table of Contents
Two men were hiking along a path in the forest. They were talking about friendship. One man said to the other, “A true friend is a person you can trust to help you when you really need it.” The other man was about to agree with this, when suddenly they heard a crashing sound in the trees nearby.
“That sounds like something big!” shouted the first man, as he ran to the nearest tree and climbed it. The second man started running, too.
Then a huge bear appeared. She was up on her hind legs, and she blocked the path to the tree, where the other man sat quietly, hoping she would not see or smell him.
The unlucky man on the ground was in big trouble. He did the only thing he could think of: he fell down and lay still, as if he was dead.
The bear became very curious then, and she walked over to the man on the ground. When the bear was right next to the man’s body, she started sniffing him. The poor man tried hard not to sneeze. Fortunately, he didn’t, even when the smelly bear sniffed very close to his ear and tickled him with her wet nose.
To the man in the tree, it looked like the bear was whispering something in his friend’s ear!
The bear stopped sniffing. Thinking the man was dead, she rambled away through the forest.
Both men waited until they were sure the bear was gone. Then they hurried to get as far away from the bear as possible. The man who had played dead was very quiet as they walked quickly down the path.
The man who had climbed the tree said, “It looked like the bear was whispering in your ear! Did she say anything?” The other man said, “Yes, the bear said, ‘Go find a true friend who won’t desert you when you are in danger!’”
Objectives
Cognitive: Students will understand the meaning of loyalty in friendship.Affective: Students will see how the man who climbed the tree was not a loyal friend. They will desire to be loyal and to experience loyalty in their friendships.
Behavioral: Students will define loyalty as standing together, standing up for each other, and helping each other when help is needed. Students will describe examples of loyal behavior.
Class Session 1
Begin the class by reading the story to the children and showing them the illustration. Ask them if they think the bear really whispered to the man when she was sniffing him! Then mention that this story is about loyalty and friendship.Ask them if they know what loyalty means. Affirm correct answers. Clarify that loyalty is when people stand together, no matter what. They stand up for each other, and they help each other—even in times of difficulty or danger.
Ask students what they think the man who climbed the tree could have done to help his companion. Listen to their suggestions, affirm any accurate ones, and gently explain why some ideas might not work or help. You can say that the man who climbed the tree could have tried to scare the bear or distract her by yelling or throwing something. If he had candy in his pocket, throwing that to the bear to eat might have given the two men a few minutes to run away without the bear noticing them. Point out that instead of trying to help, though, this friend only saved himself.
Ask students if they would like to have a friend like that. Ask them why or why not. Do students think the two travelers will remain friends? Why or why not? Explain that loyalty is an important part of being a friend or being in a family. There are lots of times when we can act with loyalty toward our friends and family. For example, a family member may fall and get hurt. You can stop whatever you’re doing and go over to the person to see if you can help. This is loyalty. Explain that sometimes children their age have even saved another person’s life, because they cared enough to try to help.
Ask, “Did you ever help a friend or member of your family when they were in trouble?” Add that showing loyalty may involve defending or protecting someone from teasing or bullying. Loyal persons will do something to rescue a friend from this kind of hurtful behavior. Encourage them to tell an adult if they see a friend or family member being bullied or teased. They should get a grown-up to help stop it. This is the right thing to do. Ask: “What is the loyal thing to do if someone says something bad or mean about your friend or family member?” Affirm that the loyal thing to do is to say something nice about the friend or family member and then start talking about something else. Continue on the theme of loyalty by explaining, “You are also a loyal friend when you help someone do the right thing.
If your friend wants to do something that is wrong, you can tell them not to do it. That is being a loyal friend. Did you ever experience this?” Let students recount times when they stopped a friend from doing something wrong. Assure students, “You will keep and make friends when you show you are loyal. When you ask most people what kind of a friend they want, they say they want a loyal one—someone who will stay with them no matter what!”
Class Session 2
Explain that you are going to play a game today called “Loyalty Freeze Tag.” Form two teams. You can choose the teams according to boys or girls, or children wearing dark shirts as opposed to light shirts, or colored shirts as opposed to white ones. Each team selects two people to be “taggers.” The teams face each other, standing in lines. When the teacher says, “Go!” the taggers try to tag rival team members. Team members try to avoid the taggers from the rival team. Once tagged, the student has to freeze. He or she can only be unfrozen when a member from their team comes and tags him or her. Then the student can run and play again. When the whistle blows, the team that has the least number of frozen members wins.After playing this game, have a discussion. Begin by asking why they think this game is called “Loyalty Tag.” Then explain that players are loyal when they risk being tagged to try to unfreeze their team members. Then ask if anyone got unfrozen by a team member, or if anyone unfroze a team member. Go on to ask, “How did that feel?”
Call on several students to share their experiences of the game. Conclude by saying, “This is how loyalty feels. It feels good, doesn’t it?”
From: Discovering the Real Me, Book 2. For book orders, click here.
Resources
An animated version of the story.Comments
Share your experiences by clicking on the "Discussion" box at the top of this page. Your comments will appear below.